There's No Aging in Vegas!

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This is a k, u and v studios original program. The content of this program does not reflect the views or opinions of 91.5 Jazz and more the University of Nevada Las Vegas, or the Board of Regents of the Nevada System of Higher Education

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you're listening to there's no aging in Vegas, a one stop shop for all things positive aging in the Vegas valley, and any place within IRS reach. This show features topics relevant to adults 50. And over, that help them live their lives to the fullest listeners will meet a variety of residents who have taken the reins of aging, and are willing to share their tips and tools for creating a positive mindset and lifestyle. Or starting now.

Unknown Speaker 0:58
Hello, and welcome everybody to there's no aging in Vegas. And do you know why? Because we're all too busy living and loving life. I'm your host, Pat Landecker. And I want to thank you for joining me today, in our positive aging playground is what I like to call it. And by the way, you know, what I've neglected to do every show is to let you know, there is a video version of this show. It's on the radio station on Sundays at 8:30am. The fourth Sunday, excuse me. But it's also at there's no ad in vegas.com There's video of it. And there's so many clips of it and different things like that. So just so you know, because I know I talked about oh, I'm going to put some pictures up and you're going where am I going to see these pictures, Pat? Well, now you know, that's where this is actually episode seven. And I want to thank Beth from all she came over and talked all about Ali and, and gave us a peek inside what's going on over there on their new campus. They've got a ton of classes, and they're all kind of tailored for you folks out there. So you know, definitely check that out, man ali.unlv.edu. And today I have a Las Vegas treasure and valued member of the Las Vegas of Las Vegas is rich fabric in history. And we'll get to her in just a second. But first we have our AARP segment. And today we're fortunate to have Aaron who's so busy, she's the communications director over there. And she is just always creating something doing something interviewing something. Matter of fact, she just said, We're her third interview today. Hey, Aaron.

Unknown Speaker 2:44
Hat, it's so lovely to join you today. And thank you for the opportunity to talk with you on these positive vibes. For

Unknown Speaker 2:53
the hot summer, I know we need something positive. Well, I'm just thrilled to get you because like I said, you're so busy. You're kind of the umbrella over there in terms of how ARP, Nevada reaches out to the public and intermingles with the public and all of that type of stuff. So you know, what else do you do? Or just tell me a few things that you do over there.

Unknown Speaker 3:17
No worries. I mean, if you have an AARP card, you know who we are. And you've probably seen our ads on TV or in your publications, but and you probably have used our discounts. But we do a lot more we have events in the community, we do a lot of work around the legislature and letting people know how and where to vote. And one of my prime objectives with AARP is making sure all of this information can get out to the public. I use a variety of methods, old school and new school and we are trying desperately to move this whole organization into the digital age and get everyone to use their brains in new ways and try new things. Wow, try to let go try to let go of paper and put that in the past. Although I still do love holding a book. Yeah,

Unknown Speaker 4:12
absolutely. That's the one thing I like to read. I'm not good at reading on a computer screen. But yeah, you know, that's the one thing I've kind of noticed not just with AARP, necessarily, but with a lot of organizations that deal with people 50 And over is that, you know, they're kind of coming into the 21st century and realizing that we have got to put more effort into getting seniors to use technology, because that's where we're headed. I mean, you're just gonna be left out in the cold if not, and so I know that you guys are fully, you know, invested in making those types of things happen. And you have so many classes, both in Reno both down in here in the south that really helped people learn, you know, and so you're absolutely right and we all appreciate that you're bringing things bringing us into the 21st century. So what are some of the things that we would be surprised to know that AARP is doing or working on?

Unknown Speaker 5:13
First of all, did you know AARP has an app, we have an app on both iPhone and Android devices called AARP. Now, this app actually can take the place of your membership card, it can show you not only where your membership gives you discounts, but what kind of events are happening near you, how to watch online classes, like how to cook healthier, how to learn more about using your smartphone, how to reach out and build connections with those all around the country. So we really are devoted to the AARP. Now, AP, you don't even have to be a member, you can download it and see the content and see if it interests you. So that's one thing we're really doing, push people into the future.

Unknown Speaker 6:07
Let me ask you real quickly. So how do where do we go for that? Or how do we access that? Yeah.

Unknown Speaker 6:13
So if you have an iPhone, you're going to go to your Apple Store. And you're going to type in A a RP now. And then you're going to see the app and you're going to learn more about it, you can download it if you'd like to try it out. If you're on an Android or Samsung device, same thing, you're going to go to your app store, the little app icon and you're going to look for AARP now. And it's an app that you can download and explore the content on your own. It's it's something that you can control. You can control what kind of information you get on the app. And and you know, what you what you want to learn about is right at your fingertips. Oh,

Unknown Speaker 6:56
that sounds amazing. And the sounds really simple to use. I think most of us kind of know how to download an app, at least we knew how to download Candy Crush and stuff. Took me we can figure out the AARP app. We have a couple of minutes left, Aaron, tell me about this new QR code? And how do we use that?

Unknown Speaker 7:18
Right and you you know, we're talking about being more respectful of the planet using less paper producing fewer flyers. And so we have QR codes now that if you are at an event where we are you will just hold your phone's camera to the QR code, scan it. Or if you have a QR code reader on your smartphone, you would just open that and scan it and then you would automatically be connected to whatever website is appropriate for that it might be a link to our events page, it might be a link to volunteer opportunities. It might be specifically a place you can go to download caregiving resources or a Social Security calculator. So we have a lot of reasons to use QR codes. Because we, we respect that people do like holding brochures and reading that information that way. But we also know a lot of people prefer to just click things through on their phone and stop taking paper that has to, you know, be recycled and or go to the landfill. So that's what a QR code is used for at AARP and you're seeing it a lot more now. Even if you drive around town bus shelters have those advertisements. A lot of them now have QR codes.

Unknown Speaker 8:42
Yeah, I put them on a lot of the stuff that I have recently, just because I know that people can easily scan and use that. It's just ARP is going green. That's what it sounds like to me. I'm sure you'll the next time you call in and it'll be something about that. I mean, you guys just like I said, every show, somebody emails me and says I had no idea ARP did all of those things. And you're like the last thing

Unknown Speaker 9:12
I'll just, I'll just bring up real quickly. You know, we produce this big voter guide how and where to register, what the issues are, how to get involved, and we don't print that anymore. So now if you want it, you just text in the votes to the number two to 777 everyone knows how to send a text I think so the number is 22777 You're just going to type in the votes, the ote s and you'll get right to our voting guide which is pretty cool.

Unknown Speaker 9:48
Yeah, no, I think that's fantastic. And I do know a little bit about that, you know, Maria will be coming on and I I put her at a time and On that I know, she could tell us a little bit more of what's going on in terms of the election just in general, not anything party specific. But just in general, what we need to know about the election and some of the legislation going on up in Reno and things like that, that, that, you know, people who live in Nevada that are at need to know about but listen, Aaron, I wish I had another 10 minutes with you. Because I know that you could really talk about anything that goes on over there. And I know I'll have you back. I really appreciate you taking the time from your busy schedule a day to come and chat with me. Is there anything else you wanted to leave us with?

Unknown Speaker 10:44
I would just say if you are listening, and you're looking for something to do today, just go to AARP dot o RG slash local. And it'll connect you with any kind of event under the sun that we're programming or doing from it's all free from movies to trivia to to music to sports, you name it. AARP dot o RG slash local.

Unknown Speaker 11:13
Wow, that's valuable, valuable information. Because you both you and I both know that a lot of the times we hear people complain, they don't have anything to do. But you know, sounds like you, you got plenty of stuff. We just didn't know about it. But Aaron, again, thank you so much. And I will definitely look forward to seeing you on a future show. And I'll let you get back to your busy busy day over there. And thank you again.

Unknown Speaker 11:38
All right. Thank you, Pat. You guys all have a good one. Bye. Bye. Bye, bye.

Unknown Speaker 11:43
Thank you. Oh, wow. You know, every time just for all of you out there everything she's telling you about. It's just a little tiny bit of what they do. It's just amazing what goes on over there. And how many different programs that we don't know, are over there. I mean, they have a whole committee that just watches movies and talks about movies and waits for the Oscars to come along and then kind of vote on which movie they think I mean, just anything you might be interested in. Trust me. They're doing it over there. sponsorship

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for this program is provided by Olli at UNLV.

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Did you know UNLV has learning community of more than 1200 retired and semi retired adults. Hi, I'm Dr. Rob Legrand, director of the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute better known as Ali. Our program offers more than 250 classes a year featuring over 100 volunteer instructors offering topics from artificial intelligence to yin yoga, more information about Ali is available at O L L I got you and lv.edu

Unknown Speaker 12:53
Okay, now we've got my special guest clay T White is here, Clay T Thank you, and welcome to the show. I really appreciate it.

Unknown Speaker 13:02
It's my pleasure to be here. Well,

Unknown Speaker 13:05
look, you are a busy person. And I have never watched so many videos of one person in my life. But I mean, every everything was so fascinating. You're so much about Vegas, and we're gonna talk a little bit about that today. But clay t just really briefly tell me a little bit about you.

Unknown Speaker 13:25
Oh, okay, so I'm originally from a little place in North Carolina, a husky. I came to Las Vegas in 1992. And it is my home now. Yeah, yes. Love this place. Yeah.

Unknown Speaker 13:41
Well, I know you had a road here or you know, just almost like a series of fortunate events, you know, that brought you here to Vegas opportunities.

Unknown Speaker 13:51
I have just continued to say yes. I came here to one of the things that I did when I first arrived is to decide to get a master's degree. And that has met all the all the difference in the world. Yeah. And because of that I have become the director of the Oral History Research Center. And that's 20 years ago.

Unknown Speaker 14:13
You're the original Oh, H oral historian. That's correct. Yes. No, I hey, look, I'm all about when you figure out what you want to do. And then you see an opportunity to create a world around that. How fortunate

Unknown Speaker 14:28
Yes, and it was not something that I figured out. The opportunities came and I said yes, I had no plans. So I know that's not the way that you want to teach your children how to move through this life. But I prepared myself not knowing that I was preparing myself. And I was able to take opportunities as they came along. I was able to say yes and to take advantage of opportunities. Yeah,

Unknown Speaker 14:59
no, I think that a lot of people don't realize when something's sitting right in front of them. And you did have a passion for learning. And you had a passion for, like discovery, I guess, too, because it kept you going forward. You know, there had to be things that you saw. And you said, Well, let me follow that path now and see where that goes.

Unknown Speaker 15:21
Sort of when I decided that I wanted to learn more history, and I enrolled in the history department right here at UNLV. It was at a time that the history department decided that they wanted to teach people in the department how to collect oral histories. So I just happened to be there at the time when they said, anybody who wants to volunteer, if you're a staff member, if you're a graduate student, undergraduate student, we want to train you. Wow. And I was one of those people who said, Yes, uh, train me. And and that's exactly what happened. Well, I'll

Unknown Speaker 16:04
tell you what, you know, what you brought to this campus, in terms of what you brought to Las Vegas is amazing. I mean, who would have been documenting all this stuff? I mean, was there somebody doing that before you came on?

Unknown Speaker 16:19
So? Yes, there was a professor in the history department back in the 1970s. His name was Dr. Roski. And he would have his students collect an oral history with every class. So we had a foundation, already. No particular projects, he would just allow them to collect an oral history. So once we started an oral history research center, using his foundational efforts, we were able to say okay, so these interviews need to be collected. And we had a whole list of interviews that needed to be collected. And we just got started.

Unknown Speaker 17:03
Wow, wow. And then here you are today, still holding it down. Here I

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am today and looking for someone that's going to replace me in about a year and a half.

Unknown Speaker 17:14
Oh, wow. You hear that? Everybody out there? Any other Oh, H is out there? Well, listen, I asked you, if you would come on and talk about Las Vegas, but I wanted to personify it. So I turned it into the lady it is. And I want to talk about how our friend has been aging over the many years. So I

Unknown Speaker 17:38
think our friend Las Vegas has been Aging Gracefully, in ways that this city has evolved in all kinds of ways science, entertainment, history, arts culture. No matter where you look, this city has evolved in wonderful, dynamic ways. And it's a new city. This city got started in 1905. We sometimes try to compare this city with Los Angeles and New York and Philadelphia. Those cities are old. They started in the 16 1700s. So we have we are still young. Yeah. And we have that youth going for us. We're flexible. Yeah, we have diversity. Yeah, we're just moving forward all the time.

Unknown Speaker 18:35
You know, and it's absolutely true. I mean, people Vegas is really not that old in any way. You know, and and I want you to kind of let us peek into what Vegas was like over the years as it shifted, because I know it's had some moments where there were big changes and shifts, and then it's had just some regular, you know, type shifts. But when did you When do you think Vegas realized it was aging?

Unknown Speaker 19:07
I'm not sure that Las Vegas knows that it's aging. I just think it just evolves and it renews itself all the time. We can look back in history, we can look at the Hoover Dam era 1930s We can look at the World War Two era, the 1940s that great migration that comes in both of those decades. And then we can look at the Las Vegas strip the late 1940s The beginning of the strip, and tourism starts back during the Hoover Dam people cannot believe that in the 1930s we built something this magnificent this marvelous so tourism starts then.

Unknown Speaker 19:52
Oh really? So people started coming here just to see the dam because correct.

Unknown Speaker 19:55
That's correct. That was our first tourist attraction. Wow. Then we can look Get the 1950s and 1960s when we are having the integration efforts 1971 with a consent decree where people of color began to get the jobs on the Las Vegas strip that they've always been entitled to, but could not hold. And then we can look at the era of the Mirage, when the weak began to build a mega resort. Yeah, yeah. And now we can look at sports.

Unknown Speaker 20:26
Well, you know, like, one thing about a lot of the casinos because I lived here, back in the late 70s and early 80s. And you know, when the strip still had those streets that are now gone on the sands Avenue, or whatever it was, and they just built and those streets are no longer there. And so you see all these old casinos going by the wayside recently, Tropicana, I think, Mirage, something is going on with that. I mean, like, that's changing how Vegas is aging, because it's really changing how Vegas looks. Well,

Unknown Speaker 21:08
yes, but look at The Mirage. So the Mirage was the first Mega resort. And now it's going to be even more grand than ever. We're talking about removing the the volcano, and we're gonna have a guitar there. So they're a guitar, there is going to be a building there shaped like a guitar. Was it the hard rock? Yes. It says the Hard Rock has come into the Las Vegas Strip.

Unknown Speaker 21:36
So where was it before it was off the strip? Right? Well,

Unknown Speaker 21:41
if there was a hard rock restaurant, yeah, okay. Yes. So, so this is the first time I think that we've had a hard rock resort here. Yes.

Unknown Speaker 21:53
So that's what the Mirage is becoming. Yes. So

Unknown Speaker 21:56
yes, we're always building and renewing ourselves. And yes, we've torn down some conceit, some casinos. But think about it. We go into some of the older casinos and cigarette smoke has damaged them to their core. Oh, wow. I mean, you pull up the carpet and the wall board you would have to remodel completely. Yeah, just to get rid of cigarette smoke now. So now we are sometimes having places without parts of them without cigarette smoke. So I think we're gonna live longer. I think it's just like a living body. We can't live with cigarette smoke. Eva can Vegas

Unknown Speaker 22:38
near so we're all aging, smokeless society. I just saw something like they were trying to pass something to ban smoking, but I don't know. That seems kind of impossible. We

Unknown Speaker 22:50
don't have smoking on UNLV campus anymore. Oh, really? No smoking. No smoking whatsoever. It can happen.

Unknown Speaker 22:57
Yeah. Oh, no. I know it can happen in Colorado where I'm from they took the town that has gambling and they turned it no smoking and and people thought I'm never gonna drive up that hill again. And guess what, next day doesn't change a lot. I think it's just has to be in place, and then people will get used to it. But overall, like is Vegas has aged? How have people aging in Vegas, kind of managed life through the changes.

Unknown Speaker 23:29
So as Las Vegas has aged, of course, the residents we've aged right along with our city. Unfortunately, we have not had the medical care all along that we should have had. That is changing. We now have this fabulous medical school. So So yes, so efforts are being made in those areas that have been lacking. And when you think about homelessness here that is one of the problem areas in our city. And I think that we have to do something about that as well. We are a pretty good city. When it comes to joblessness. We don't have the joblessness, rate of a lot of other cities. We have a wonderful education system, especially higher education. We need to do more with our first through 12th grades. Yes, we need to do more with that we need to do something different with that. And maybe we can have the trickle down effect because our universities all colleges have done a fabulous job here. Oh, wow. We have 100 plan that is renovating the historic African American community and maybe we can put more monies into that and do something even more grand than we've planned to do.

Unknown Speaker 24:55
Yeah, I think Vegas there's the evolution of some of the things they just never really expected. And now that especially with the influx of new people coming into the city, and changing the landscape and the building that's going on and everything like that, I would say, an aging Vegas probably didn't really think that it would start bursting at the seams. Well,

Unknown Speaker 25:20
migration started back in the 1930s. And I don't think Las Vegas has those seams that are inflexible, our seams are very flexible. And we are we welcome growth. Now, I know that there's a problem with water. But I think the taken care of that there are measures that have been taken in Los Angeles over the years, that are more strict than any measures that we've ever taken here. So I think we're learning how to live with the water situation. And I just think that we're gonna find solutions.

Unknown Speaker 26:00
You know, it's interesting as you speak, I'm thinking okay, as I because you know, I specialize in aging. And as I think about it, and everything you've said, it's no different than a person aging. That's correct. And things that we have to go through and deal with and the things we witnessed as growth takes place and things like that. And, and I would say, I don't know, I mean, from what you've said, it sounds like Vegas has handled it pretty well.

Unknown Speaker 26:22
Las Vegas has aged gracefully. We are wonderful aging lady. Yeah. With lots of flexibility. Lots of energy. Yeah,

Unknown Speaker 26:31
no, I agree with you there. Now. Is it the same? And just real quickly? Is it the same for the whole state, you kind of see that are just down here? So I

Unknown Speaker 26:41
don't look at our state that often. I don't do research in other parts of the state. And I cannot really speak to that. I know that when it comes to arts, culture, humanities, we see that growing all over the state. But when it comes to the economic picture, I cannot speak for Reno, Elko, II, and other places like that. Yes. Well,

Unknown Speaker 27:08
I'll tell you, this is gonna happen a second time because we didn't even get through the majority of the stuff, people that's correct, gets better and better. But I knew I needed to kick off a discussion about aging Vegas. And I'm going to keep that as the title as we move to part two. And I want you to say Las Vegas, Las Vegas. You know, I'm from California. I

Unknown Speaker 27:31
don't know the name of this, like people who say Xmas, it

Unknown Speaker 27:33
drives me crazy. It's Christmas day. But no, I appreciate you saying that. And so I'm just so grateful that you were able to come in and really read some air into my idea. And like I said, I want to do a second time so that we can really touch on a lot of the other aspects of history in Vegas, because it's all about aging, whether it's the city or the people or the buildings or whatever. That's what you know, we're talking about here, everybody, and I just, you know, listen, I have a couple of things I need to say real quick, because I know I don't have a lot of time. But again, remember this show, there's a video version, there's no aging in vegas.com. And I want to say if you can't love aging, because a lot of people won't embrace it. And they're kicking and screaming and everything. How the heck are you gonna love living? I just don't understand. You got the love of aging. So thank you everybody for tuning in. And I so look forward to the next time that were together. And I've just appreciate everybody that's viewing the show and listening in on the show and the wonderful comments and I'm glad to be able to bring this to you with the support of AARP Nevada as well as Olli at UNLV. So thank you so much. And I will see you next time. Clay t my girl.

Unknown Speaker 28:58
Thank you so much.

Unknown Speaker 28:59
I never say Vegas again. Thank you so much. We'll see everybody.

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AARP Nevada supports people in the community and online advocating to protect Social Security offering resources for family caregivers and tips to prevent fraud and identity theft. The AARP believes that people should decide how to live as they age, offering programs to keep the mind body and finances healthy. More about upcoming events at aarp.org/local and the voter guide can be available by texting NV votes 222777

Transcribed by https://otter.ai